


When I See You Again

by xCabooseRTRvB



Series: Hiding in the Face of Danger [2]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Abuse, Blood, Brothers In Crime, Child Abuse, Dreams and Nightmares, Dreams vs. Reality, FAHC, Fake AH Crew, Guns, Mute - Freeform, PLEASE TELL ME IF I NEED TO TAG ANYTHING ELSE, Physical Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Verbal Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-08
Updated: 2017-10-08
Packaged: 2019-01-10 13:55:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12300519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xCabooseRTRvB/pseuds/xCabooseRTRvB
Summary: Prompt: yo you did ask for prompts (XD) so here it is-I dare you to turn the Hiding in the Face of Darkness happy. ;)Revenge clouds everyone's minds, but sometimes it's not worth it. Other times, it's never happened.





	When I See You Again

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MerryLittleKittyFairy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MerryLittleKittyFairy/gifts).



> Here's the promised happy ending for Hiding in the Face of Danger(/Darkness, because I accidentally titled it Darkness on Tumblr, but I fixed it now)! I hope you all enjoy!

“Steffie!” Ryan shouted and crouched down next to Trevor who was clinging onto Alfredo so tightly Ryan didn't think he'd ever let go. “Steffie!” He shouted again and reached for Alfredo, but Trevor flinched away and pulled Alfredo closer, shaking his head. “Trevor…”

“Ryan!” Quickly running over, Steffie got down to her knees and opened the first aid kit. “What happened? Yelling my name tells me nothing.”

“Shot in the back and it looks like it went through,” Ryan answered simply. “Trevor… Steffie’s going to help him.”

“You didn’t save him,” Trevor signed hastily and took a shaky breath.

“He’s—” Steffie stopped when Ryan outstretched an arm in front of her.

“He’s still alive,” Ryan said, “and he still will be if you let her help.” A few beats of silence passed before Trevor’s grip loosened around Alfredo and Steffie took that as her cue to carefully lay Alfredo flat on the ground, despite Ryan wanting to say that Trevor still wasn’t comfortable but shut his mouth when his brother didn’t protest. Examining his brother, Ryan opened his mouth and asked, “Are you hurt?” Instantly, Trevor glared down at the ground and his expression shifted to anger as his hands curled into fists. Immediately, Ryan panicked, “Where?” He reached over as Trevor moved away then stood up, pulling on his headphones and aggressively solving the Rubik’s Cube. His brother paced around as Ryan frowned at the bandage on Trevor’s arm, “Trevor, you should sit down and let Steffie stitch you up.”

“Stop caring about me!” Trevor yelled, his voice cracking from not using it. “Alfredo’s dying…” Trevor signed before raising the volume on his headphones to the point where Ryan could hear it very clearly.

_…turn to a friendship_  
_A friendship turned to a bond_  
_And that bond will never be broken_  
_The love will never get lost_  
_And when brotherhood come first_  
_Then the line will never be crossed_  
_Established it on our own_  
_When that line had to be drawn_  
_And that line is what we reach_  
_So remember me when I'm gone_

“Ryan, help me bring him to the car.” Steffie hurriedly shoved the excess supplies in the kit and stood up as Ryan carefully picked him up and Trevor suddenly stopped pacing. “Ryan, take him to Matt, I'll talk to your brother.” Ryan opened his mouth to object, but slammed it shut when Steffie frowned. Sighing, the older rushed to the car where Matt was waiting.

Pursing her lips, Steffie looked at Trevor who immediately turned in the direction Ryan left and took a step to follow, but Steffie stepped in front of him. “He's trying to help you. He's worried, it doesn't help that he hasn't spoken to you in _years_! Give him a chance.”

“He could've said something before. He could've told us he was alive.” Trevor signed too quickly, Steffie barely understood but got the gist of it. Trevor aggressively turned the Rubik’s Cube a couple of times and clenched his jaw as Steffie quickly studied him.

“He was protecting his identity—”

“FROM WHO?” Trevor yelled loudly, his voice faltering halfway through as he pulled his headphones off and threw both the Cube and headphones to the ground angrily. The headphones cracked and the Cube shattered into its individual pieces as Trevor glared down at the mess and breathed heavily.

_When I see you again_

“If we knew he was alive, Alfredo wouldn't be dying right now. We wouldn't have to resort to crime to hunt down my so-called father to murder him. We both would've been fine with knowing he was _alive_. Don't fucking tell me he had to protect his identity because that's total bullshit.” Snatching the headphones from the ground, Trevor pulled them over his head and shoved his hands into his pockets, shoving past Steffie and heading for the direction Ryan had departed to.

«~•~»

“The bullet missed literally everything and it went right through. He’ll survive, but he lost a lot of blood. He should wake up in a few days.” Steffie explained to the brothers, Geoff, and Jack and washed her hands thoroughly as Alfredo lay on the bed soundlessly asleep. “No one is allowed in here except for Trevor.” Ryan frowned as Steffie continued, “ _Because_ he would most likely kill everyone here just to stay by Alfredo’s side, no matter who stood in his way.” Everyone glanced at Trevor who was sitting next to the bed and staring down at his lap, his hand wrapped firmly around Alfredo’s. Sighing, Steffie dried her hands and motioned for them to leave, “C’mon! Out! They both need some beauty sleep!” Steffie pushed them out the room and closed the door behind her, leaving Trevor and Alfredo in the silent room.

It was so quiet, Trevor could hear each individual breath of Alfredo’s and the shifts of Ryan standing in front of the door outside of the room. “If you can hear me…” His hand tightened around Alfredo’s and he bit his bottom lip so hard it bled as blood dripped slowly onto the floor and Trevor blinked every time one drop hit the floor. “Don't die on me please…”

Trevor quietly sobbed in the silent room.

Frowning at the barely audible sobs, Ryan turned around and placed his hand on the doorknob as another hand was placed over his and he turned to see Neal there. Neal gave him a small knowing smile, “Leave them alone for a bit, yeah?”

Ryan hated how quiet Neal could be, he’s one of the few people who could sneak up on him. “He needs someone,” Ryan began to turn the knob as Neal forcefully pulled his hand away from the knob and stood between him and the door. Ryan glared at him, “Get out of the way.”

Neal raised a brow, “Ryan, we both know who would win in a fight and I won’t care if I have to break you to leave them alone.”

“Trevor needs me,” Ryan reasoned firmly and went to push Neal away, but Neal instinctively grabbed his hand and twisted it. Ryan didn’t even flinch because he knew Neal was going to stop him, it was Neal’s common reaction whenever someone opposed him. Fight or flight was never a choice for Neal, it was always fight. “I’m not leaving.”

Frowning, Neal kept his grip firm, “You don’t have to, just stay out here.”

“You don’t know my brother,” Ryan replied.

“You don’t either,” Neal responded instantly and released his grip from Ryan’s hand. “You watched them grow up, but that doesn’t mean you know them.” Neal turned and started walking away, “It’s been sixteen years since they last saw you and they’ve come a long way.” Stopping suddenly, Neal paused and turned around, “If anything, they’re more like brothers than you and Trevor ever will be.” With that, he walked away as Ryan watched him leave before sighing.

«~•~»

“You plan on sitting there on your ass forever?”

Opening his eyes, Ryan lifted his head and looked up to see Matt standing there with two plates of food and a smile. “Can I join you?” Matt asked as Ryan shrugged and shifted his gaze down. “I'll take that as an ‘I don't care’,” Matt said and moved to sit, placing a plate in front of the other. “Here, you haven't eaten since yesterday morning.”

“Have you been watching me?” Ryan asked curiously and stared down at the plate of cut steak and mashed potatoes with gravy and a side of assorted vegetables.

It was Matt’s turn to shrug. “Food’s good, man. Plus, we’re all worried about you guys.” Matt said and leaned on the wall as Ryan picked up the fork and started eating. “You okay?” Matt asked worriedly and watched Ryan carefully.

Ryan nodded and swallowed the food he had in his mouth, “I'm just thinking about what Neal said and he's completely right, I _don't_ know Trevor anymore. I guess, I never did.”

Matt frowned, “He just grew up, he's not a completely different person.”

“I know, but Trevor always let me help him, he's a lot more independent now.” Ryan pointed out and sighed, putting the fork down. “Maybe I should stop treating him like my baby brother.”

“Have you gone inside yet?” Matt asked and glanced at the closed door that trapped Trevor and Alfredo inside. “You should try to talk to him.”

Turning to Matt with surprise, Ryan frowned, “Aren't you guys trying to make sure I _don't_ go inside?”

Matt scoffed, “Please, that's everyone else’s job. I'm just trying to help a friend out. Here,” Matt handed the second plate to Ryan, “give it to him, it's a peace offering of sorts. Talk to him and don't try to force him to do anything, you'll make him even more hostile. Understand him first, then help him.” Matt stood and stretched, “Well, I got a bunch of upgrades I gotta finish before the end of the day.” Starting to walk away, Matt waved goodbye, “Good luck, man.”

Watching him leave for a couple of seconds, Ryan called him as the mechanic stopped and slightly turned, “Thank you…”

Matt smiled, “No problem, dude.” He left.

Standing, Ryan picked up both plates of food and balanced them on one arm to reach for the knob, but the door opened before he even touched it. “Trevor?” The aforementioned shoved a piece of paper in his direction as Ryan blinked at it before putting the plates down and taking the paper from him. “What's this?” Ryan asked, but Trevor didn't answer. He just placed his hands on his headphones and pushed the speakers onto his ears as he stared down at the ground. Good thing it wasn't loud enough to blow out his eardrums. Looking down at the paper, Ryan realized it was a map of Los Santos and skimmed the notes that were messily scribbled onto the map. “Did you…” Ryan trailed off and studied the map further before frowning and looking at Trevor who hadn't moved from his position. “Did you just create a heist?” Looking past Trevor, Ryan could spot the different colored markers and pencils and the whiteboard scribbled with barely legible words. “Trevor…” Opening the door further, Trevor pointed at the piece of paper taped crookedly in the middle of the whiteboard. Shaking his head, Ryan folded the map, “Trevor, we’re not ready for that. The Fakes alone couldn't accomplish that right now.”

“The scar…” Trevor signed quickly, Ryan almost didn't catch it.

“I know, but—”

“She _deserves_ to die,” Trevor signed, emphasizing ‘deserves’ as Ryan pursed his lips.

“Trevor, you're talking about destroying a mob boss. We're not doing that, not now.” Ryan said softly, pleading with his brother to reconsider. “I know what she did to Alfredo, but you _know_ how dangerous it is.”

“SHE NEARLY _KILLED_ HIM! I AM _NOT_ LETTING HER GET AWAY WITH THAT!” Trevor roared angrily as Ryan shook his head.

“You need to stop trying to avenge us, Trevor. Dad didn't kill me and she didn't kill Alfredo.” Ryan reasoned gently and wanted to hug his brother, but he wasn't sure if he would be okay with that. “We're both still alive. We don't want to lose you…”

There was silence for a good minute before Trevor spoke up.

“Tell your boss that I'm doing this heist with or without the Fakes.” Trevor slammed the door closed before Ryan could respond and sighed, gripping the map tighter and jogging away.

“You're not doing this alone, Trevor. We’re not leaving you ever again.”

«~•~»

“We start tomorrow, everyone remembers their roles?” Geoff looked around the room. No one spoke up. “Any questions then?”

“Yeah, why are we suddenly going after the most powerful mob boss in the East Coast?” Michael asked curiously as Jeremy nodded in agreement.

“Not that I wouldn’t be happy with kicking her teeth in, but isn’t this heist a death sentence for us? Surely, you don’t think that we’ll kill her when she stays for the month.” Jeremy added.

“Speaking of which, how did you even get her entire schedule?” Lindsay questioned with a frown. “She’s not even here yet and her entire schedule was leaked? Sounds suspicious.” Lindsay pointed out as a knife flew by all of them and was embedded into the cork board. Startled, everyone quickly pulled their weapons and aimed at the person at the doorway.

It was Trevor.

Larry frowned and lowered his gun, “Could've shot you, y’know?” They all holstered their weapons as Trevor walked inside and pulled his knife out of the board. “I'm guessing this is all your doing, then?” Larry gestured at the papers on the table, tacked onto the cork board, and taped onto the whiteboard.

“Trevor’s asking for your help.”

Everyone looked at the doorway and spotted Ryan wiping off the paint from his face. Throwing the towel over his shoulder, Ryan walked further inside and stopped at the foot of the table. “The mob boss needs to be taken down no matter what.”

“No matter what?” Ashley echoed in confusion. “Are you expecting us to do this successfully? Once she's dead, we got a _lot_ of people on our asses. What makes you think we’ll survive a horde of people wanting to kill us for murdering their queen?”

“Not only that, but she's bound to already know we’re after her. We don't have stealth as an advantage here.” Kent added and looked at everyone before landing his eyes on Trevor who kept his gaze on the ground and they could all hear the faint hint of music playing. “Hacking into her system for her schedule? She already knows we’re coming.”

“Even if you were to hack it properly, she would’ve noticed. I know her current techie and lemme tell you, they’re gifted.” Matt informed which aggravated some of them.

Gavin nodded in agreement, “Our chances seem to get slimmer, lad. We all know why she’s the most powerful mob boss. What makes you think we’ll win?”

“A month isn't enough time to scout and carry out the job properly.” Jack replied and sighed, “If you don’t have something solid, then we can’t risk our lives for something out of our reach. I’m sorry, Trevor, but it might not be possible.”

Trevor curled his hands into fists, “You don’t know her.” Trevor huffed quietly.

“And you do?” Andy questioned with a raised brow.

“Hold on,” Neal said suddenly with a frown and leaned forward in his chair, “What do you mean ‘we don’t know her’? Are you implying that you know her personally?” Neal questioned suspiciously as some of them narrowed their eyes at Trevor who hadn’t moved.

Ryan looked at Trevor worriedly and opened his mouth to answer, but his brother replied instead, “Yes.”

Geoff frowned, “How do you know her?”

Shifting his head in the direction of Ryan, Trevor didn’t lift his head to look at him as Ryan understood and sighed, “She’s our biological mother.”

Silence filled the room.

Sighing, Geoff dropped his head and rubbed the back of his neck. “Of course, she is.” Punching the table suddenly, Geoff startled everyone who turned to him but kept their mouths shut. “Kid, you sure you want to do this?” Geoff asked Trevor.

“I’ve been planning this for years,” Trevor answered quietly. “Our father used to be one of our mother’s henchmen. They ‘fell in love’ as in, they liked each other’s looks and our mother said ‘Fuck it, I need an heir anyway’, so Rye was born. She took one look at Rye and said ‘He’s too soft, he won’t be good enough to take over for me’. Our father _nearly_ killed him, twice.” Taking a second to take a couple of deep breaths because talking was still a challenge for him, Trevor continued shortly thereafter, “Our father wanted to give Rye a chance, so he started ‘toughening’ him up for years, but never gave him a weapon because our mother believed he couldn’t handle it. Eventually, our mother got tired of waiting and told our father that if their next child wasn’t good enough, she was going to kill him and take her kids from him. Our father used to be the kind of man who cared for people when he wasn’t supposed to. Then, I was born. Once again, she was disappointed in what she had created. Our father fled before she had the chance to murder him. He took care of us, but eventually he became what she was.”

A gentle hand was placed on Trevor’s shoulder and he shut his mouth to give his vocal cords a break as Ryan continued for him. “Our father’s training soon became torture for both of us and Trevor had a tendency to break down whenever he yelled at us. He taught us self-defense, at first to protect ourselves from our mother, but then it became our way of protecting ourselves from him. We both didn’t have glasses—which we both needed—so when he handed us guns, I couldn’t see the target very clearly. Trevor had a worse time, but that didn’t matter if we could hit the target or not, training was hell. The moment I turned eighteen, he forced me to join the business and well, I’ve been meaning to kill him for a long time. Nearly twenty-one, I faked my death that day because you couldn’t live with a murderer like me. I embraced the criminal life that day and I’ve been watching you and Alfredo ever since. I knew he wouldn’t come after you because he still didn’t have the heart to kill you.”

Trevor shook his head, “He almost killed Alfredo.”

“Because he wasn’t you. Do you know how relieved he was when he realized he _didn’t_ kill me? He had to prove that he was still on her side before he died. He had to die knowing that what he did was the right thing.” Ryan reasoned as Trevor frowned.

“Stop defending him,” His brother said firmly. “He was an asshole who deserved to die. What our parents did to us—to Alfredo—is unforgivable.”

Knowing everyone was thinking it, Andy asked the unspoken question, “What did they do to Alfredo?”

Trevor pursed his lips before answering, “Alfredo was twenty-one, she told our father that the only way for me to toughen up was to kill everyone I cared about. He didn’t do it, so she did it herself. Tried to shoot Alfredo, it didn’t work because she’s a terrible shot. She took out a knife and slashed at him. He couldn’t see out of his left eye anymore—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Jeremy interrupted and sat up in his chair, waving his hands in front of him. “You’re telling me he has no depth perception, but he can shoot like a pro?” Trevor simply gave him a serious look. Even though Trevor wasn’t looking directly at him, Jeremy still felt like he was staring into his soul. “Wow… That’s pretty impressive.”

“Okay! Before we get off topic,” Geoff said to get their attention and massaged the bridge of his nose, “we’ll go with your plan, but we need a diversion.”

Ryan’s eyes widened and he was about to object, but Trevor spoke up before he could, “That’s why I’m the bait.”

«~•~»

“Did you finally realize what you were born to do, Trevor?” His mother asked him as Trevor curled his hands into fists and kept his gaze on the ground. He didn’t have his headphones or a Rubik’s Cube. “Look at me when I speak to you, boy!” She shouted harshly, but Trevor didn’t even flinch. “Your disability does not give you the right to disrespect me!” Trevor’s expression didn't change. His mother scoffed, “You're pathetic! Letting your weaknesses take over, someone could take advantage of you. Learn to turn those weaknesses into strengths!”

Slowly, Trevor lifted his head to make eye contact with his mother, “I have, and you will watch all you've worked for burn to the ground.”

She laughed boisterously, “Ridiculous! You think you can take me down, boy? You’re not strong enough.”

“I don’t have to be,” Trevor replied quietly as an explosion rocked the entire building.

«~•~»

Gasping awake, Alfredo sat up suddenly and frantically looked around the room before entering a coughing fit and placed his hand over his mouth as he coughed. After the coughing stopped, Alfredo pulled his hand away and frowned at his blood-spotted hand. “Fuck…” Looking around curiously, Alfredo took a couple of deep breaths and noticed that Trevor wasn't there. His eyes widened when his eyes landed on the headphones on the nightstand. “Trev, you idiot…” Moving to the edge of the bed, Alfredo threw his legs over the side of the bed and his hand flew to his chest as a sharp pain shot throughout his body.

The door opened as someone stepped inside dressed in a green hoodie and simple blue jeans and glasses. Their eyes landed on Alfredo and frowned, “You’re trying to leave.”

“Where’s Trev?” Alfredo asked and entered another coughing fit as his chest burned.

“You should rest,” they firmly suggested and walked over. “They’re all busy.”

Slowly, Alfredo stood and winced but powered through the pain, “Did you put him on a job?” Alfredo questioned, his voice strained because of the pain he was enduring. The other nodded as the marksman’s eyes widened, “He doesn’t have his headphones and you put him on a job?!” Alfredo practically yelled and hunched over when pain coursed through his body once again.

They walked over to him and led him back to the bed, helping him sit back down. “Look, it was Trevor’s idea. He created the heist and wrote down every aspect we needed to take down our target. He thought of everything and we’re just helping out.” They reasoned calmly as Alfredo shook his head.

“You don’t understand, I need to find him.” Alfredo attempted to stand, but they kept their grip firm around him and kept him from standing back up. “Where is he?”

“Downtown LS, they’re taking down—”

“His mom, yes, I know.” Alfredo finished knowingly and tried to stand again, but they wouldn’t let him. “Idiot thinks he can handle everything himself now. Let me go, he needs a distraction.”

“A distraction is the last thing they all need right now. The heist is active and the mics are hot, you’ll ruin their concentration.”

Shaking his head, Alfredo pursed his lips, “Did he tell everyone to put silencers on their guns?”

They furrowed their brows and studied Alfredo carefully, “Um, yes… why?” They asked curiously, slightly suspicious he even knew that information, but he did know Trevor better than the rest of them.

“You need to get me to him,” Alfredo repeated firmly and went to stand again, but couldn’t.

“I’ll let you go if you’ll tell me why.” They replied softly as Alfredo shook his head.

“You’re wasting time!” He exclaimed and pushed them away before standing. “They’re all going to die if you don’t tell me where he is right now!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down… Take a couple of deep breaths. Why would they die?”

“Because Trev’s afraid of gunfire!” Alfredo shouted and grabbed the headphones on the nightstand. “If he doesn’t have _these_ on and he’s out on a job where there’s potential gunfire, he’ll have a panic attack! Silencers will help ease him, but if the other side doesn't have silencers then he’s screwed and considering his mother is known for being flashy, Trev’s going to panic.”

The other shook their head in disbelief and frowned, “He’s in this business, why… why is he in this business…? Why is he a criminal if he can’t handle gunfire?”

Sighing, Alfredo shook his head and shrugged, “I don’t know the exact reason, but he wanted to avenge Ryan and he had to join this business to do that. He wasn’t reluctant at all to throw his life away. The day Ryan was shot by his father, the echo from the gunshot seemed to resonate with Trev and ever since then, loud explosions and anything that remotely sounds like gunfire just causes him to have a panic attack and music had been his escape for years from it. It took him days to calm down from it, but sometimes it’d take weeks. He never overcame that trial, so I’m begging you, tell me where he is before someone dies.”

They pursed their lips and watched Alfredo for a while before sighing and nodded, “Okay… Okay, I’ll help you. I’m Steffie, by the way.”

“Alfredo,” he replied with a small smile. “Thank you…”

Steffie nodded and helped him walk out of the room, “What do you need?”

“My sniper.”

«~•~»

“This is the closest we can get without disturbing the heist,” Steffie informed quietly and closed the roof door locking it closed with zip ties as Alfredo walked over to the ledge with the help of his sniper rifle and crouched down. “What do you plan on doing exactly?”

Positioning his rifle, Alfredo aimed down the sights at the building he knew Trevor and his mother was located in, “Ending this before something happens. Any of your boys have explosives?”

Steffie shook her head and crouched next to Alfredo, but kept her eyes on the roof door in case anyone decided to flank them if they even knew they were there. “Trevor told them specifically not to use explosives. I can’t promise that they’ll all listen to that rule though.”

“If they know what’s good for them, then they won’t.” Alfredo finally landed his scope on the floor Trevor and his mother was on. They appeared to be talking and she was yelling at him, but he didn’t even look fazed. Alfredo smirked, “That’s the Trev I know. What phase of the plan are they on?”

“They just took down her advisers,” Steffie answered softly. “The next part is erasing the data, Matt and Ashley are already halfway there.”

“Then the henchmen,” Alfredo added with a frown, “Then her…”

“Are you planning on shooting her?” Steffie asked warily.

“No,” Alfredo answered, “The one who’s supposed to kill her is Trev. He’s been planning this since I lost sight in my left eye. I know this plan inside and out because he continued to try to convince me that he could achieve it. I didn’t want him to die, so I said that there were still holes in his plan. He continued to perfect it and eventually, he became obsessed with knowing every fact about her without her knowing. He gathered so much information in such little time and knew every angle that would definitely crush her, I was terrified with where he was headed.”

Frowning, Steffie turned her head to study Alfredo who continued to look down the sights and he looked solemn. Sad, even. “Where was he headed?”

Alfredo sighed and closed his eyes briefly before opening them again, “I saw it the moment a knife was placed in his hands to defend himself. I saw what was happening over the course of six years. I saw how different he became when he was murdering people. I saw how seriously he took this business.” Alfredo’s expression saddened. “I saw who he had become. He tried so hard to influence the city, to make people fear him. He threatened people to get his way, tortured even. Ruined people’s lives. Struck them down like they were nothing. Manipulated people with their weaknesses. And he did all of that with a smile. I may have been the first face that anyone we’ve cut down has seen, but Trev was always the last. I did the talking. What he did was use both of our talents to get revenge on his parents. If you haven't seen it yet, then you will definitely see who he had become.”

“His mother…” Steffie said quietly in realization.

“He's become the one person he swore he'd never become and he wasn't even trying to, it just came naturally,” Alfredo added somberly.

A silence stretched between them as Steffie processed this information.

“He can be saved though,” Alfredo said suddenly.

“How?”

“Let him continue to do what he needs to do. Don't take his capabilities away from him. Let him scheme. Let him break people. Let him decipher the world. Let him be in control. He doesn't even need to be the actual boss. He just needs to control something. He needs to feel like he's influencing people. It'll tire him out and I will always be by his side to make sure he doesn't lose himself. That he doesn't become power hungry. That he doesn't destroy you guys instead. The only people who can stop him from going absolutely berserk are Ryan and I. We’re the people he cares about and soon enough—if you'll have us—he’ll care about you guys too and we won't have to watch him twenty-four seven. I'm simply making a suggestion, but that suggestion only applies if Trev and I are joining you guys. If not, we’ll disappear and probably never come back, we’ll be on the run.”

“Whether or not you two successfully killed his father, Geoff and Lindsay were going to offer you two spots on the crew anyway. Not only because you knew Ryan, but because you're damn good mercenaries. No one in the crew disagreed.”

“That's good to hear, but still, in the end, Trev decides whether we stay in this business or not.” Alfredo finalized as an explosion occurred causing Alfredo to look away from the scope and search for where it had happened. Looking through the scope, Alfredo found Trevor covering his ears, “Damnit… Find out which one of your boys did that and I'll personally gut them for doing that.” He said, expressionless as he saw Trevor’s mother tackle him to the ground. “C’mon bud, you got this.” Trevor struggled with shoving her off of him, but the sound of a gunshot made him freeze. “Damnit! Does he have an earpiece in?” Alfredo asked hastily.

Steffie nodded, “Yeah, he does.”

“Good, you have a phone?” Alfredo placed his rifle down and took the phone that Steffie handed him. “Tell Ryan these exact words: Bum Cheese.” Steffie frowned as Alfredo typed on the phone. “Look, don't question it. It's a phrase that we used when things went to shit. Ryan came up with it a long time ago because he knew that if he were to die, I would be taking care of Trev. I thought he'd never use it, but he used it the day he faked his death and I got Trev the hell out of there. I didn't know anything about their family until that day.” Alfredo shook his head, “Tell him, he’ll understand.”

Steffie nodded and switched on her earpiece to tell Ryan.

Tapping on the screen, Alfredo looked at her, “Play this on the earpiece.” Taking off the earpiece, Steffie took the phone and placed the earpiece on the speaker of the phone as Alfredo pressed play.

_It's been a long day without you, my friend_  
_And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again_  
_We've come a long way from where we began_  
_Oh, I'll tell you all about it when I see you again_  
_When I see you again_

Multiple explosions occurred around the building as Alfredo looked through the scope once more and saw Trevor stabbing his mother who reeled back and pulled the knife from her arm. Soon enough, they were throwing knives at each other, using furniture as cover, catching thrown objects just to throw it back at the other, and a constant fight for control that looked like neither of them was going to win anytime soon. However, a particularly loud explosion occurred under them and threw Trevor off balance as his mother took the opportunity and slashed at her son whose hand shot up to his face instinctively.

“No!” Alfredo shouted and fired his sniper quickly, hitting her shoulder. Stumbling away from the window, Trevor’s mother held her shot shoulder as Trevor slowly turned his head and narrowed his eyes right at Alfredo who appeared surprised and looked away from the scope to stare at the building in disbelief. Under Trevor’s right eye, a long cut from the bottom of his temple to the right of his chin was bleeding.

Trevor looked pissed.

Peeking through the scope again, Alfredo saw Trevor pick up a knife and slowly walk toward his mother as his mouth moved. Alfredo really wished he could hear what the other was saying. Crouching next to her, Trevor was far from view and disappeared behind furniture as Alfredo cursed to himself.

“Alfredo, we need to move!”

Blinking out of focus, Alfredo looked away and turned to Steffie who quickly stood and pulled out her assault rifle. “What?”

“They know we’re here! Let's go!” Grabbing his arm, Steffie hauled him to his feet as Alfredo looked behind them and spotted a jet soaring right for their building and two rockets detach from it. “We gotta jump!” Steffie shouted and climbed onto the ledge as Alfredo quickly assessed the situation and realized that there was no other way, slinging his sniper over his shoulder. “Fall, I'll catch you!” She said.

Alfredo frowned and protested, “Fall? What do you mea— WHOA!” Steffie shoved him off the building as Alfredo tumbled but hastily caught himself and started slowing down. Attempting to look behind him, Alfredo could barely see Steffie jumping off as the roof exploded behind her and she dove for Alfredo.

Wrapping her arms around him, Steffie shouted, “Hold on tight!” She pulled something and suddenly they were jerked upward before slowly gliding down to the ground.

“What the fuck…?” Alfredo looked above them and saw the rainbow parachute. “How did you…?”

Steffie laughed, “I'm always prepared for situations like these, Alfredo. You okay?”

“Wha—am I—am _I_ okay?! Steffie, you simultaneously scared the crap outta me _and_ saved my life. Of course, I'm okay!” Alfredo pointed out incredulously and took a couple of deep breaths to slow down his rapidly beating heart. “Are _you_ okay? You did just jump from an explosion.”

“I'll walk it off, I'll be fine,” Steffie said confidently. “In the meantime, focus on suppressing fire, they need help getting out.”

Positioning his sniper in front of him, Alfredo started firing at the building as bodies hit the floor with a hole through their heads. “Did they kill her?” Alfredo asked cautiously, almost like he was afraid of the answer. They touched the ground as Steffie let go of Alfredo and cut the parachute from her as Alfredo turned and looked at her worriedly because she _wasn't answering right away._ “Steffie, _did they_ or _did they not_ kill her?”

“Yes, she’s dead,” Steffie confirmed and looked up at the building Trevor was in, shrugging off the parachute bag.

“There's a ‘but’ to this, isn't there?” Alfredo asked warily.

Steffie shook her head, “C’mon, we need to get to them fast.” She started to run off, but Alfredo quickly grabbed her hand to stop her.

“Tell me,” Alfredo pleaded quietly. “Trevor is he…?” He trailed off, terrified of even finishing that sentence. How could he think of such a thing anyway?

Shaking her head again, Steffie spoke just as quietly, “We need to move.”

_”Alfredo!”_

“Do you hear that?” Alfredo asked with a frown.

Steffie shook her head, “No.” Grabbing his hand and leading him to an unmarked vehicle, Steffie opened the door and shoved him inside before climbing in and closing the sliding door. “How's it going, guys?” Steffie asked, getting behind the wheel as Alfredo looked around.

“What's the dead man doing here?” A person dressed in a red hoodie and basic jeans wearing headphones over their head asked. They typed a little bit on their laptop before looking up at Alfredo.

“Geoff’s gonna be pissed,” Another replied, further in the back of the van. They also wore a grey hoodie and dark blue jeans with their long hair pulled into a neat bun.

_”Alfredo!”_

“No, he won't, Ashley,” Steffie said and started the van. “Especially since ‘dead man’ here saved our lives, Matt.”

“How so?” Matt asked with a raised brow.

_”Come on!”_

“I'm right here, you could ask me yourself,” Alfredo spoke up with a frown.

“Dead men don't speak,” Matt replied flatly.

“Why do you keep calling me, dead man?”

_”Don't fucking do this to us!”_

Matt and Ashley both stared at Alfredo with serious expressions as Alfredo turned to Steffie and opened his mouth to ask why they were staring at him but she was staring at him too.

_”Because you're dying…”_

«~•~»

_”…next to…”_

_”…fucking tell me…”_

_”…he's not stable!”_

_”…fucking hospital…”_

_”I'm not losing him!”_

_”ALFREDO!”_

_”Please… wake up…”_

Blearily blinking his eyes open, Alfredo focused on the ceiling fan above him. Was he in a bed? Slowly curling his left hand into a fist, Alfredo slightly grasped the sheets under him. Huh, he was on a bed. How'd he get here? Taking a deep breath, the marksman went to curl his right hand, but his hand closed around someone else’s hand as he turned his head to see who was next to him. In a reclining chair pushed right up to the bed, Trevor was lying down next to the bed wrapped in a thick blanket and had his arm outstretched to reach Alfredo’s. Whenever Trevor tried to sleep, he always slept close enough to Alfredo so that he could reach for him and ask for comfort because his nightmares of Ryan’s death always plagued him.

No, Ryan’s alive now, they found him.

Suddenly, everything came back to him.

Trying to examine the other’s face for a cut, Alfredo frowned when at this angle he couldn't see Trevor’s face. “Trev…” His voice sounded hoarse and felt dry as he coughed and his chest burned.

“It was a nightmare…” Trevor spoke quietly but didn’t move. “You’re okay now.”

“What happened?”

Trevor tightened his grip on Alfredo’s hand, “You nearly died…”

“I’m alive,” Alfredo assured as Trevor nodded and kept his face from view. “Are you okay?” Trevor nodded again and shifted under the blanket. “What happened specifically in your dream?”

Trevor only shook his head.

“Are you sure you don’t want to—”

“No,” Trevor said firmly looking at Alfredo. Trevor didn’t have a cut on his face. “ _You_ had a nightmare.” Surprised, Alfredo frowned and slowly started to sit up, his hand starting to slip out of Trevor’s grasp, but the younger held firmly. Alfredo almost never had nightmares, it was very rare if he were to have one. They were always the worst where he'd be crying sometimes even yelling at top volume. Maybe that's why his throat hurt. He remembered every single one and they haunted him years after they occurred. Sometimes he couldn't distinguish what was a dream or not until Trevor confirmed it. “What did you see?” Trevor asked softly.

Leaning on the headboard of the bed, Alfredo tightened his grip on Trevor’s hand as he recalled what happened. “You went after her and you nearly died.”

“I would never go after her without your permission,” Trevor assured quietly and hid his face again.

“You were still planning…”

“I’m always planning.”

“You hated Ryan.”

“Never,” Trevor confirmed immediately.

“You and Ryan told everyone everything,” Alfredo whispered and studied Trevor carefully to see his slight movements.

The younger shook his head, “I would never burden anyone else with my problems.”

“I know…” Alfredo replied quietly. “Are you hurt?”

Trevor shook his head.

“Okay…” Alfredo shifted and instinctively shot his other hand up to his chest when pain surged through his body. He felt bandages under his clothes. “What happened to me?”

“The bastard shot you, he’s dead now.”

“Who fired?”

“Rye did. The song ended when he fired, so I heard it clear as day.”

“What stopped you?”

“Rye was there, I didn’t have a reason to panic as severely. It still happened though.”

“How long has it been?”

“A couple days,” Trevor answered quietly. “Are you hungry?”

“That would help,” Alfredo said with a slight smile as Trevor nodded and reluctantly slipped his hand from Alfredo’s sitting up and throwing his legs over the side of the chair that wasn’t touching the bed, back to Alfredo. “I can get it,” Alfredo offered, already moving to get up.

Trevor sighed, “Steffie says that you need to rest. Please stay in bed.” Complying, Alfredo moved back to the headboard and leaned against it as Trevor stood up and walked to the door. Stopping at the door, Trevor clenched his hands into fists, “Fredo…”

Worried, Alfredo frowned, “Yeah?”

“Thank you… for everything,” Trevor said, then paused momentarily before continuing. “I’m sorry I never said it before and I almost never had the chance to.”

Smiling, Alfredo shook his head, “It’s okay, Trev. You’re welcome.”

“Why did you do all that for me?”

Alfredo chuckled, “Isn’t it obvious?”

“Not really,” Trevor replied, turning to look at the other.

“You’re family, Trev, did you think I was going to leave you?”

“It was an option.”

“Not in my book,” Alfredo said firmly and sighed, “I never even thought of leaving you.”

“I was a liability.”

“No, you weren’t.”

“I was broken.”

“And I put you back together.”

“I didn’t deserve it.”

“You absolutely do.”

“I don’t function properly.”

“You have brain damage, so what? That’s never stopped me from caring.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re worth it. Please stop thinking otherwise.” Alfredo shifted on the bed and went to stand as Trevor’s eyes widened and took a step in his direction, but Alfredo just waved him off. Reluctantly, Trevor complied and stayed by the door. “Listen Trev,” he started, “I don’t appreciate the fact that you think that what I’ve done for you was a waste of my time because, in reality, it wasn’t. I cared for you and helped you because you deserved to be cared for.” Standing, Alfredo’s hand shot up to his chest and he winced as Trevor frowned and took a step forward again, but hesitated. “You’re important to me, Trev, and you’re family. Despite being born in different families, I consider you my brother.” Walking over to Trevor, Alfredo stumbled a little as Trevor hastily caught and righted him before giving Alfredo a worried look, “If I had learned the next day that both you and Ryan had died, I don’t know what I would’ve done.”

“What do you mean?” Trevor whispered quietly, afraid of the answer. “You could’ve moved on.”

Alfredo chuckled dryly, “Y’know, for having straight A’s all throughout high school and getting a degree in aerospace engineering, you’re not really smart.” Trevor pouted as Alfredo laughed, “I’m kidding!” Trevor shook his head with a small smile on his face. “I wouldn’t have moved on, Trev. You guys were my best friends.”

“You could’ve made new friends.”

Alfredo shook his head, “No one could replace you guys, you’re both unique.”

“There’s nothing that would change your mind.”

“Absolutely nothing,” Alfredo confirmed with a smile as Trevor nodded in acknowledgment. “I do have a question for you though.” Trevor tilted his head in interest. “We’ve done what we were supposed to do. We killed him and we could move on. We could forget about her if you want. I need to know, though. What do you want to do now? Lead a normal life or continue with this one?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Trevor asked with a faint smile.

Alfredo chuckled and shook his head in amusement, “I guess not.”

“We stay. This is our home now and our family. By the way, now that you’re awake, I can tell you everything about the Fakes.” Trevor said excitedly and carefully led Alfredo out of the room.

Smiling, Alfredo nodded, “Three, six, four, Trev. Three, six, four.”

_It's been a long day without you, my friend_  
_And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again_  
_We've come a long way from where we began_  
_Oh, I'll tell you all about it when I see you again_  
_When I see you again_

**Author's Note:**

> If you're confused, the entire first part, before Trevor and Alfredo's conversation, was a dream.


End file.
